Private: Faculty of Arts and Science – Humanities
History
Open Textbooks and Concordia Courses
| Open Textbook Title | Potentially Relevant Courses |
| Western Civilization: A Concise History – Volumes 1 – 3 | HIST 200, HIST 202, HIST 206, HIST 207, HIST 235 |
| Historical and Contemporary Realities: Movement Towards Reconciliation | HIST 203, HIST 205, HIST 303, HIST 359 |
| Canadian History: Pre and Post-Confederation | HIST 203, HIST 205, HIST 209, HIST 210, HIST 303 |
| Confronting Canadian Migration History | HIST 305, HIST 206, HIST 308, HIST 309, HIST 311, HIST 315 |
| World History: Cultures, States, and Societies to 1500 | HIST 206, HIST 207, HIST 208, HIST 219, HIST 223, HIST 225, HIST 242, HIST 262, HIST 263, HIST 264, HIST 274, HIST 276, HIST 302, HIST 323, HIST 327, HIST 335 |
| Yale Lectures: The Early Middle Ages, 284–1000 | HIST 206 |
| Global History and New Polycentric Approaches | HIST 207, HIST 261, HIST 262, HIST 263, HIST 274, HIST 276, HIST 283, HIST 302, HIST 306, HIST 332, HIST 336, HIST 341, HIST 353, HIST 366, HIST 394, HIST 395 |
| Keys to Understanding the Middle East | HIST 242, HIST 348, HIST 369, HIST 374 |
| Sage American History – Era of the American Revolution | HIST 251, HIST 302, HIST 303, HIST 353, HIST 354 |
| U.S. History | HIST 251, HIST 253, HIST 302, HIST 303, HIST 308, HIST 324, HIST 318, HIST 320, HIST 321, HIST 322, HIST 353, HIST 358 |
Description and Access
Western Civilization: A Concise History – Volume 1, Volume 2, and Volume 3
These peer-reviewed open textbooks are about the origins of civilization in Mesopotamia c. 8,000 BCE through the early Middle Ages in Europe c. 1,000 CE. Volume 1 covers topics including Mesopotamia, Egypt, Persia, Greece, Rome, the Islamic caliphates, and the early European Middle Ages.
Volume 2 looks at the early Middle Ages to the French Revolution in 1789 CE. It covers topics including the High Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the European conquest of the Americas, the Reformation, the Scientific Revolution, and the Enlightenment. Volume 3 looks at the Napoleonic era to the recent past.
Volume 3 covers topics including the Industrial Revolution, the politics of Europe in the nineteenth century, modern European imperialism, the world wars, fascism, Nazism, the Holocaust, the postwar era, the Cold War, and recent developments in economics and politics.
Includes: course content
May suit: HIST 200 Introduction to History, HIST 202 Modern Europe, HIST 206 Medieval Europe, HIST 207 Early Modern Europe, HIST 208 Introduction to the History of the Balkans, HIST 235 The Holocaust, HIST 242 History of the Middle East, HIST 262 History of China, HIST 263 History of Japan, HIST 264 History of Africa, HIST 351 England in the Reign of Henry VIII, HIST 382 Age of Enlightenment, HIST 383 Age of Revolution, HIST 398 Selected Topics in History
Historical and Contemporary Realities: Movement Towards Reconciliation
This open textbook is written as a resource for educators to teach students about the Indigenous historical significance of the lands encompassing the Robinson-Huron Treaty area and more specifically the Greater Sudbury and Manitoulin area. It also, through the use of interactive mapping strategies, serves as a guide for educators to develop a similar resource to document Indigenous stories from their own areas.
Includes: instructor and student resources
May suit: HIST 203 History of Canada Pre-Confederation, HIST 205 History of Canada Post-Confederation, HIST 303 Native North American History Since 1800, HIST 359 The History and Sociology of Genocide to 194
Canadian History: Pre-Confederation and Post-Confederation
Canadian History: Pre-Confederation is a survey text that introduces undergraduate students to important themes in North American history up until 1867. Written and reviewed by subject experts drawn from colleges and universities, this is the first open textbook on the topic of Canadian history. The Post-Confederation textbook introduces aspects of the history of Canada since Confederation. “Canada” in this context includes Newfoundland and all the other parts that came to be aggregated into the Dominion after 1867.
Includes: instructor resources (videos)
May suit: HIST 203 History of Canada Pre-Confederation, HIST 205 History of Canada Post-Confederation, HIST 209 Quebec to 1867, HIST 210 Quebec since Confederation, HIST 303 Native North American History Since 1800
Confronting Canadian Migration History
This open collection of essays speaks to the broad range of research being done in Canadian migration history; they also highlight the commitment of their authors to an engaged, public-facing scholarly practice.
Includes: photo visuals, course content
May suit: HIST 203 History of Canada Pre-Confederation, HIST 205 History of Canada Post-Confederation, HIST 209 Quebec to 1867, HIST 210 Quebec since Confederation, HIST 251 History of the United States to the Civil War Era, HIST 253 History of the United States since the Civil War Era, HIST 261 History of South Asia, HIST 262 History of China, HIST 263 History of Japan, HIST 302 The Invasion of America: European Colonization and Indigenous Resistance before 1800, HIST 303 Native North American History Since 1800, HIST 305 Race and Gender in Canadian History, HIST 308 Cultures in Contact: A History of Migrations to North America, HIST 309 Law and Society in Canadian History, HIST 311 Contemporary Canada, 1939 to the Present, HIST 315 Rights and Freedoms in Canadian Society, HIST 348 History of Violence: Middle East 1798 – Present, HIST 353 Colonial America and the Atlantic World, HIST 357 Foreign Relations of the United States to 1945, HIST 365 Human Rights and Genocide Prevention in History, HIST 366 Early Modern China, HIST 367 Modern China, HIST 374 Egypt and the World Since 1798, HIST 377 History of Russia 1694-1917, HIST 378 History of the Soviet Union, HIST 381 The Politics of the Past, HIST 394 Food in History
World History: Cultures, States, and Societies to 1500
World History: Cultures, States, and Societies to 1500 is a peer-reviewed textbook that offers a comprehensive introduction to the history of humankind from prehistory to 1500.
Includes: high-res images and maps, chronologies, and suggested questions to help guide student learning
May suit: HIST 206 Medieval Europe, HIST 207 Early Modern Europe, HIST 208 Introduction to the History of the Balkans, HIST 219 Ancient Near East, HIST 223 Greek History from the Bronze Age to Alexander, HIST 225 History of the Roman Republic, HIST 242 History of the Middle East, HIST 262 History of China, HIST 263 History of Japan, HIST 264 History of Africa, HIST 274 The Atlantic World, HIST 276 History of Latin America: The Colonial Period, HIST 302 The Invasion of America: European Colonization and Indigenous Resistance before 1800, HIST 323 Greek History from Alexander to the Roman Conquest, HIST 325 The European Renaissance, HIST 327 History of the Roman Empire, HIST 335 Barbarian Invasions and the Birth of Europe, HIST 342 Crime and Punishment in Medieval Europe, HIST 350 Medieval England
Yale Lectures: The Early Middle Ages, 284–1000
This open course looks into the major developments in the political, social, and religious history of Western Europe from the accession of Diocletian to the feudal transformation.
Includes: lectures
May suit: HIST 206 Medieval Europe
Global History and New Polycentric Approaches
This well-reviewed open textbook rethinks the ways global history is envisioned and conceptualized in diverse countries such as China, Japan, Mexico or Spain, and considers how global issues are connected with our local and national communities.
Includes: learner exercises, student resources, course content
May suit: HIST 207 Early Modern Europe, HIST 261 History of South Asia, HIST 262 History of China, HIST 263 History of Japan, HIST 274 The Atlantic World, HIST 276 History of Latin America: The Colonial Period, HIST 283 The 20th Century: A Global History, HIST 302 The Invasion of America: European Colonization and Indigenous Resistance before 1800, HIST 306 History and the Public, HIST 332 United States, Cuban and Mexican Relations, HIST 336 Deviancy and Orthodoxy in the History of Mexico, HIST 341 History of Britain Since 1714, HIST 353 Colonial America and the Atlantic World, HIST 366 Early Modern China, HIST 394 Food in History, HIST 395 Environmental History, HIST 398 Selected Topics in History – Transnational Networks, HIST 402 The Philosophy and Practice of History, HIST 403 Methodology and History
Keys to Understanding the Middle East
This reviewed open textbook covers the fundamentals and is intended for readers who have never studied the Middle East, or experts who may wish to fill gaps in their knowledge of the region from other disciplines.
Includes: instructor and student resources
May suit: HIST 242 History of the Middle East, HIST 348 History of Violence: the Middle East 1798 – Present, HIST 369 Middle East: Empire, Gender, and Sexuality in Modern Times, HIST 374 Egypt and the World Since 1798, HIST 398, HIST 467 Advanced Study in Middle Eastern History
Sage American History – Era of the American Revolution
This peer-reviewed open textbook is a comprehensive look at the American Revolution, containing links to primary source documents and other resources of this important era in U.S. history.
Includes: instructor and student resources
May suit: HIST 251 History of the United States to the Civil War Era, HIST 302 The Invasion of America: European Colonization and Indigenous Resistance before 1800, HIST 303 Native North American History Since 1800, HIST 308 Cultures in Contact: A History of Migrations to North America, HIST 353 Colonial America and the Atlantic World, HIST 354 Revolutionary America, HIST 452 Advanced Study in American History
U.S. History
This open textbook covers the breadth of the chronological history of the United States and the key forces and major developments that together form the American experience, with particular attention paid to considering issues of race, class, and gender.
Includes: instructor and student resources
May suit: HIST 251 History of the United States to the Civil War Era, HIST 253 History of the United States since the Civil War Era, HIST 302 The Invasion of America: European Colonization and Indigenous Resistance before 1800, HIST 303 Native North American History Since 1800, HIST 308 Cultures in Contact: A History of Migrations to North America, HIST 318 Modernist New York, HIST 320 American Culture, 1900–1945, HIST 321 American Culture Since 1945, HIST 324 United States 1877-1924, HIST 332 United States, Cuban and Mexican Relations, HIST 353 Colonial America and the Atlantic World, HIST 354 Revolutionary America, HIST 355 United States in the 19th Century, 1815–1850, HIST 356 United States in the 19th Century: The Era of the Civil War, HIST 357 Foreign Relations of the United States to 1945, HIST 358 Foreign Relations of the United States, 1945 to the Present, HIST 373 The Pacific War, HIST 384 Age of Industrialization and Nationalism 1848-1914, HIST 385 Age of Dictators: Europe, 1914-1945, HIST 386 Contemporary Europe: 1945 to the Present, HIST 396 The United States Since 1945, HIST 452 Advanced Study in American History
Support for Open Textbooks at Concordia
- There are grants available to adopt an open textbook for your course.
- Make suggestions for this page by emailing oer@concordia.ca.
- Learn more about OER.